How do you keep sane if you need to apply for hundreds of jobs before landing a new role?

TL;DR Nobody seems to know how many job applications are needed to land a new job. With the steep decline in vacancies in the UK, the number of applications people need to send is often in the hundreds. This would not be such a problem if there were plenty of jobs available, but if you need to apply for hundreds of jobs, how are you going to keep track of and effectively manage your job search without going mad? A Jobseeker Support System is the answer. Try the free trial of GetJobzi.com, the UK’s only dedicated AI-powered Jobseeker Support System.

LONG ANSWER

Introduction

In the current economic climate, job search depression, career change anxiety, and stress about unemployment are all good topics for a blog post for Mental Health Awareness Week. The Mental Health Foundation does great work researching, developing, and advocating for good mental health and has great resources regarding money worries and unemployment. However, what is often missing in wider discussions about mental health and job seeking, is any acknowledgment of the causes of this stress and anxiety. Our entire recruitment and job search market is designed for a situation where there are plenty of jobs… what happens when there are not so many jobs available? How do you keep sane if you need to apply for hundreds of jobs before landing a new role?

Job hunting in the UK has become increasingly challenging. With over 100 applicants for many advertised positions within just 24 hours, the competition is fierce. The stark reality is that there are nearly twice as many job seekers as there are vacancies. As vacancies have decreased by 15.1% compared to the same period last year, the job market has become highly competitive. LinkedIn even reported a 24% decline in UK hiring rates from August 2022 to August 2023. If you’ve been struggling to secure a job recently, you’re not alone.

Jobseeking is unnecessarily stressful

Looking for a job is almost by definition a stressful thing to do. However, the modern job search process is unnecessarily more stressful than it needs to be. The entire modern recruitment process is built and paid for by employers and recruitment agencies. It is optimised to make it as easy as possible for employers to select and hire regardless of any negative effect on candidates. Recruitment agencies are incentivised to gather as many CVs as possible to offer what they have to employers when the opportunity arises, so some (and perhaps many) job posts are fake. Being sent on a wild goose chase for non-existent jobs not only wastes time but directly causes jobseekers to become demoralised and depressed, especially when the number of real vacancies is falling.

Step back and reflect for a moment, if you are not paying for the service, you are probably the product! If you find job search a bit scary, confusing, and chaotic it is because you are the farm animal being taken to market. Just like social media business models, the recruitment industry relies on your freely available data to work, and just like social media, you pay the cost of this “free service” with your mental health.

Most job seekers still think they can find a new role with this haphazard and unsupported solo job search. Most people just sign up with a couple of job boards, register with a few recruitment agencies, and hope for the best. This would not be such a problem if there were plenty of jobs available, but if you need to apply for hundreds of jobs, how are you going to keep track of and effectively manage your job search without going mad?

The stress of searching and applying for jobs

The relentless cycle of applications, rejections, and silence can take a toll on even the most resilient job seeker. Feeling rejected, stressed, and questioning your self-worth are all valid experiences during a job search.

Rejection and frustration: Constantly being rejected after applications and interviews can chip away at self-esteem and lead to feelings of inadequacy and failure. This can trigger depressive episodes.

Stress and uncertainty: The entire job search process can be stressful and filled with uncertainty. This can lead to anxiety and make it hard to maintain a positive outlook.

Identity and self-worth: For many people, their job is tied to their sense of identity and self-worth. Being unemployed can make people feel like they are less valuable.

Imagine a service that organises and structures your job search and even gets recruiters calling you with job offers

To solve the problem, what is needed is a service that genuinely works for and on behalf of workers. A service is needed that constantly searches for job postings that match your job title, location, and target salary (or higher), and automatically applies for the job for you.

We developed the Jobzi AI bot to make it super simple for British workers to get the jobs they are qualified to do and get paid what they are worth, i.e., the market rate for their skills and area. We are a UK-based technology start-up, not a recruitment agency. We call our service a Jobseeker Support System. We aggregate vast amounts of job market data with an AI-powered virtual assistant service to apply for the right jobs when they become available. Unlike recruitment agencies, GetJobzi.com works exclusively for and on behalf of job seekers.

Our Jobzi Jobseeker Support System gives you:

Personalised Jobseeker dashboard.
Personalised job search and matching across all job postings.
Feedback on every application.
Automated and early applications.
Realistic daily and weekly job application targets based on actual job availability.

Don’t do job search alone, get the support of the UK’s best Jobseeker Support System. Try the AI-powered GetJobzi.com Jobseeker Support System. Any adult in the UK can register for Jobzi by going to https://getjobzi.com/. Just register, specify your job title, location, wage target and upload your CV. Jobzi will do the rest.